Royal Yacht Britannia

One very cold and windy January morning a friend and I set out to tour the retired Royal Yacht Britannia.  The yacht was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI.  Unfortunately, he passed away just days after the commission papers reached the shipyard.  This left Queen Elizabeth at the helm to determine most of the ships needed features and decor.  The yacht was built in Scotland by John Brown and Co.  The Queen herself launched the yacht on April 16th, 1952.  During 44 years in Royal service Britannia sailed the equivalent of once round the world for each year, more than one million miles, calling at over 600 ports in 135 countries for more than 700 royal visits.  It provided seclusion for four royal honeymoons including that of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones.  It hosted numerous state functions and trade missions.  The Queen has said that she feels most relaxed onboard the Britannia.  But on December 11, 1997 she and Princess Phillip retired the Royal Yacht Britannia and the ship came back home to Scotland where she now serves as a Heritage Attraction here in Edinburgh.

There is a small indoor museum detailing the history of the yacht.

A Quiet Christmas

Our first Christmas in Scotland was very slow and relaxed.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, ongoing work at the Jacob's plant has put limitations on our travel.  Because of this, we spent our holiday break enjoying everything that the Edinburgh Christmas season had to offer.  The biggest of those being the Edinburgh Christmas Market.  Edinburgh really is a magical city and it's dripping in history and culture like no where I've ever been before.  Even I've surprised myself at how much I've enjoyed living in a tourist city, but there's something surreal about walking down Princes Street as you pass the Scott Monument with Edinburgh Castle looming on the rocks above you.  That experience was enhance with the holiday cheer of the Edinburgh Christmas Market.  I had always heard about European Christmas markets, but the actual experience is much different than anything I've ever had in the US.  The market runs from mid-November until the first week of January.  All of Princes Street Gardens is transformed into a Christmas revival of sorts, with shows, rides, shopping, and food.  Oh the food!  That's what kept bringing us back again and again.  We probably visited the market a half a dozen times during its 6 week run.  The german sausage, steak rolls, prawns, and crab rolls were incredible, and couple that with Belgium waffles, crepes, and all the chocolate and we would have to waddle out to the bus stop after each visit!  We rode the Edinburgh Eye ferris wheel, found our way through the Christmas tree maze, and shopped all the Harry Potter shops.

We brought over a few Christmas decoration, but I had to order a new tree because the plugs are different here.  I ordered a reasonably priced 6.5 foot tree, and although it clearly stated the height on the box, the tree seemed to be very shy of it's description!  Brenna and I put it up one day and when Jacob got home from work he asked "Where's the rest of the tree?"  Apparently 6.5 ft in the US is not equal to 6.5 ft in the UK.

Brenna kept busy with friends over the break with Christmas parties, ice skating, and sleep overs.  We walked through the Christmas at the Botanics at the Royal Botanical Gardens, which turned out to be a dud.  While the Christmas Market was exceptional, the holiday decorations in the area certainly weren't up the standards we were accustomed to in Texas.  We paid nearly £50 to walk a mile in the freezing cold through flood lights shining up into the trees.  It was a little underwhelming.

Edinburgh Christmas Market